General Election 2015

A War Within Washington on Health Care Reform

The argument between Gov. Chris Gregoire and Attorney General
Rob McKenna is something we probably could have predicted in
January.

McKenna was in Kitsap County and stopped
by our offices. We asked him about health care reform and he very
pointedly brought up the very issue that on Monday became part of
the national conversation. He’s joining other states in suing the
federal government, arguing that it’s unconstitutional for the
federal government to mandate that someone buy something.

Since his announcement the governor, a former attorney general,
State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidleer and U.S. Rep. Jay
Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, have all come out critical of
McKenna’s decision.

The Seattlepi.com was among the
first to argue that this fight will prevent McKenna
from being governor in 2012, saying he was difficult to criticize
up to this point.

“Democrats will now try to tar him with the same brush they’ve
used to dispatch every GOP gubernatorial candidate for the past 25
years. And it looks like McKenna has just given them at least some
of the paint they’ll need.”

The official statements follow the jump. There will probably be
many more.
From McKenna:

“I believe this new federal health care measure
unconstitutionally imposes new requirements on our state and on its
citizens. This unprecedented federal mandate, requiring all
Washingtonians to purchase health insurance, violates the Commerce
Clause and the 10th amendment of the US Constitution.

“I’m concerned that the measure unconstitutionally requires all
Washingtonians to purchase health insurance and places an
extraordinary burden on our state budget by requiring Washington to
expand its Medicaid eligibility standards in violation of our
state’s rights guaranteed under the10th amendment.”

From the governor:

“I’m disappointed that the Attorney General would participate in
a lawsuit to repeal a law that would help 1.5 million
Washingtonians get access to affordable, quality health care.

“I completely disagree with the Attorney General’s decision and
he does not represent me.

“He doesn’t represent the people of Washington who would get
assistance so they could afford quality health insurance. He
doesn’t represent the thousands of small businesses that would
benefit from tax credits to provide coverage for their employees.
He doesn’t represent the thousands who will no longer be denied
coverage because of a pre-existing condition. He doesn’t represent
the half million young people in our state who would be covered
under their parents plan until they are 26. He doesn’t represent
our state’s Medicare recipients. He doesn’t represent the taxpayers
of Washington.

“This is landmark legislation that will cover over 32 million
Americans who don’t have health care. I have made it clear to the
Attorney General that I will actively oppose this lawsuit if it
moves forward.”

From Kreidler:

“I was deeply disappointed to hear that Attorney General McKenna
plans to fight the federal health-reform legislation.

Washington is home to nearly 1 million people with no health
coverage. The status quo is simply unsustainable, both financially
and morally. Far too many families – through no fault of their own
–are one diagnosis away from bankruptcy.

The battle over health care has been far too bitter and
partisan. Personal mandates have been talked about over the years
by both Democrats and Republicans, including the late Sen. John
Chafee, R-R.I., who proposed an individual mandate in 1993.

It’s my hope that we come together as a state to enact reform,
rather than let families continue to suffer while lawyers battle in
the courts.”

From Inslee:

“We fought over 2,000 insurance industry lobbyists in Washington
DC to protect Washingtonians health care, we shouldn’t have to
fight our own Attorney General too. Stripping families of their
legal rights to insurance, may be the South Carolina way, may be
the insurance company way, may be the Tea Party way, but it’s not
the Washington way.

“If the Rob Mckenna had his way, he would remove the cornerstone
of this house of health, bringing down all the rights and
protections we have fought so hard to build. Rob Mckenna would
leave Washingtonians naked and allow insurance companies to deny
them care for a preexisting condition or strip them of coverage
after they get sick. That is not the Washington way. We should be
disappointed that our attorney general has chosen to be in league
with insurance companies and not Washingtonians.

“Rob Mckenna does not know, or does not care that a significant
part of this comprehensive reform includes the solution to decades
of Medicare reimbursement disparity for Washington health care
providers and hospitals, and more importantly a new structure for
health care spending that will reward quality care, reduce the
deficit and save families money.”

The bill plus the reconciliation include good things for us in Washington, including hospitals and doctors (as Inslee has pointed out).

I am one of the uninsured. And I do have a pre-existing condition. I earn too much to qualify for any of the current subsidies, and too little to afford the near $2000 per month insurance premiums from any insurance provider who will even consider insuring me.

Rescission of insurance has always been an acute risk for me–yet another reason why borrowing the money to buy insurance seems additionally risky: wouldn’t I be better off simply saving that money (if I had it) than throwing it away on an insurance plan sold by a company that has no intention of keeping their promise to provide a service?

If there is anything that McKenna should be doing in the health care arena of consumer litigation, it would be to protect us Washingtonians from those unscrupulous insurance scams.

On another note, I have recently been discharged from bankruptcy. Why did I declare bankruptcy to being with?